Final Fantasy XIII is a MAJOR flop on the 360 - we need to talk about it

[Kenryoku_Maxis]

thelifatree said:

Kenryoku_Maxis said:

Qays said:

But I do think squares intention like you said to widen the fanbase and they failed. They might have gotten some 13 year old kids like FF8 got me, but no more than if it would have been a normal FF.

I'd say they narrowed the fanbase by alienating existing fans. Final Fantasy is an RPG. People who play Final Fantasy play it because they like RPGs. Making it less of an RPG was a terrible idea.

I would agree.  That and the constant problem of the Final Fantasy series has been they always feel they need to 'reinvent the wheel' every game.  Sure, its good to add new content and even change the gameplay, but not to the extent they do it.

Look back and see many of the most successful game series out there.  Mario, Pokemon, Halo, GTA, The Sims, Dragon Quest.  They got to the place they're at by taking what worked in the previous game and simply adding to it in the sequel.  This is what made them popular with fans and successful as a series.  Final Fantasy however is an enigma.  They make a completly original title, and for the sequel, they start over completely from scratch and throw away nearly 99% of everything from the previous title and start over again.  Its only logical that some people will start to pick and choose which games are 'the best' and which ones 'suck'.  And some others get tired of the series because its a roller coaster ride of 'awesome games' and 'lackluster titles'.  You can't make 'the best game ever' if you keep throwing away your old ideas and starting over.

 

Wth sell, like some people think FFVIII, FFIX, FFXII, are lackluster
Yet many fans claiming it their favorite FF or Favorite.

I think a more correct phrase... instead of which ones are good, and which ones suck. Is the question. "Is this a Final Fantasy That I'll Enjoy" because many people enjoy FFXIII and the other ones I listed.

Like Mario you know what to except, but consequently, I've found them boring since Mario 64.

Sales wise it might make sense to what you're saying which is creating a universe and slowly evolving it. And not reinventing the wheel each time. But that's what they have Dragon Quest for. Maybe Final Fantasy can be that way too.

I don't know, I'd rather them try to do weird things in fail, than become Pokemon, Dragon Quest, And Halo. But that doesn't necessarily mean its the best business decision

Well true, its been stated many times that the reason Final Fantasy has gone off in this path is to diversify itself, specifically from series such as Dragon Quest.  However, there can be a happy medium between 'slow evolution' and 'totally redoing everything each game'.  Obviously looking at it from a business sense, they may need to start finding that happy medium, because the series is continually losing sales over time.

Final Fantasy still has plenty of brand power, but it needs to find its soul.  And that soul is more than just a weak coalition of cliché character archetypes and a few inserts of Summons/Chocobos each game.  They could do a LOT more to appeal to their fanbase, while coming up with creative new gameplay and stories each game.  Heck, if that simply means lowering the amount of games released and having one team oversee the production of all the Final Fantasy titles, perhaps they should do that.  Its what's helped Dragon Quest stay strong all these years.

@darthdevidem01

Look back on the thread.  We already discussed all the points you brougt up.  FFXIII didn't come out with the largest launch in the west for a FF game and nothing is assured that it'll surpass FFXII in lifetime sales.  Or even FFIX.